Modern Day Sea Training School

[jimmys]

I quite enjoy reading about the Sea Training Schools and output from them. I sailed with a lot of the persons who passed from them. It was generally good, both the Ratings and Officers.
I do not think there is any integrated training establishment for UK ratings in the country. Where Officers are still being trained in the various colleges. Ratings are not. This has led to a severe shortage.

I am reliably informed the UK has 4000 deck and engine ratings, and Latvia the Baltic State has 8000.

It would be better if we heard of a modern day sea training school and this site should support it.

regards
jimmy

[Colin Hawken]

Unfortunately once British Shipowners had to start paying halfway decent wages to British Seamen,they got rid of them and put cheap foreign labour in their place.I doubt there are any ships today flying the Red Ensign that carry British Seamen.apart from the Officers. Shipowners always have and always will be.

[Mick O'Brien]

I agree with Hawkeye1, we where paid peanuts in the old days x amount of hours a day and no thanks what so ever from the company.

but then again we were not in it for the money we did it because we loved being at sea.
not like the t*****s today.

[Louis the Amigo]

HI Jimmy Hi Hawkeye Hi Madmick,hi shipmates' The British merchant navy was under cut by cheap unskilled labour, from many countrys at the rate of 4 to 1 .The ship owners could employ 4 crew for the price of one skilled british seamen , and of cause very little safety at sea no regs under or rights or tax under flags of convineance, How many crew have died saveing the owners' loads of money? The ship owners have a lot to answer for, but the officers from The U.K. are still at sea on most ships ?as far as i know , Agency unskilled, cheap labour is still used by P.O. and other shipping companys.

[Les Woodard]

I often think that maybe they have been penny wise and pound foolish. When you take into consideration that when we where at sea most of the maintenance was carried out while we where at sea enabling less time in dock for repairs like they do now, if that is what they do. When we entered a port everything would have been overhauled and working. I know that we get a lot of rust buckets coming into port here in Oz. About the only maintenance they had years ago was to get the bottom scrapped and that was done while under articles most of the time.

[Dennis Reid]

Hi,

I attended the sea training college,at Gravesend, I think it was February/March 1974. I was a cat boy.
The weeks I spent at the school, I thoroughly enjoyed. Even though it was so long long ago I still have great memories of the weeks I spent at the place.Most names I have forgotten, but faces are still quite vivid..
I have no complaints at all, about the staff, or the training.

I am from NI, and this is the time the troubles were at their worst, and guess what it spilled over to the training school.Myself and a few other others from a different political perspective got into a very serious fight.

We were all 16 then. Mr.Scott the then Captain/first mate got wind of it and brought us all into his office and warned us that we were on are way home if the fighting continued. After the lecture, guess what, we all became the best of friends for the duration of the course.

Sadly I have no photographs whatsoever, no seamans book, pass book. If anybody can help me it would be greatly appreciated.

Dennis